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Five things I believe now about product work (that I did not believe 10 years ago):
Note:
Some people will disagree with some of these points. If you’re one of them, this isn’t an attempt to change your mind. It's hard to change minds! Instead, I hope this is useful for folks who’ve felt that conventional wisdom is wrong but haven't yet found the words for it.
Some people will disagree with some of these points. If you’re one of them, this isn’t an attempt to change your mind. It's hard to change minds! Instead, I hope this is useful for folks who’ve felt that conventional wisdom is wrong but haven't yet found the words for it.
1/
Dates don’t matter as much as we pretend they do.
Hard launch dates are less about getting the product in users’ hands as quickly as possible and are more often a blunt tool used by management to ensure that people "are working well and are working hard”.
Dates don’t matter as much as we pretend they do.
Hard launch dates are less about getting the product in users’ hands as quickly as possible and are more often a blunt tool used by management to ensure that people "are working well and are working hard”.
2/
You can get most B2B products right upfront.
The practice of spending several years finding product-market fit shouldn’t be viewed as a virtuous activity that’s worthy of praise or admiration. It should usually be viewed as an option of last resort.
You can get most B2B products right upfront.
The practice of spending several years finding product-market fit shouldn’t be viewed as a virtuous activity that’s worthy of praise or admiration. It should usually be viewed as an option of last resort.
3/
Product leaders shouldn’t feel pressured to secure early product wins in their first 90 days.
The net long-term value of “securing early wins” in a new product leadership job is more often negative than it is positive.
Product leaders shouldn’t feel pressured to secure early product wins in their first 90 days.
The net long-term value of “securing early wins” in a new product leadership job is more often negative than it is positive.
4/
It’s often a good thing if a Product Manager spends less time on product building activities.
Most PMs should spend at least 10% less time on product building activities. Allocate that time towards thinking about product distribution & incorporate that thinking in the product
It’s often a good thing if a Product Manager spends less time on product building activities.
Most PMs should spend at least 10% less time on product building activities. Allocate that time towards thinking about product distribution & incorporate that thinking in the product
5/
You will learn more from avoiding major product mistakes than from making them.
Most product blunders & product PR issues can be foreseen & avoided, but aren’t. “Learning from mistakes” is important, but it’s often used by teams as an excuse for shoddy thinking & execution.
You will learn more from avoiding major product mistakes than from making them.
Most product blunders & product PR issues can be foreseen & avoided, but aren’t. “Learning from mistakes” is important, but it’s often used by teams as an excuse for shoddy thinking & execution.
Lastly, these aren't rules that will be right 100% of the time.
Every situation is different. Context is everything.
That's precisely why it's important to call them out: in many companies the opposite of these statements are blindly treated as rules.
That needs to change.
Every situation is different. Context is everything.
That's precisely why it's important to call them out: in many companies the opposite of these statements are blindly treated as rules.
That needs to change.
A few additional references
Related to tweet number 2, on B2B products:
A short thread on B2B products, along with the questions you need to answer https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1270905869320871936
Related to tweet number 2, on B2B products:
A short thread on B2B products, along with the questions you need to answer https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1270905869320871936
A short B2B product management story, along with commentary on product-market fit, the Product Manager's responsibility, the Focusing Illusion for products, and the Customer Problems Stack Rank framework https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1263890593022795778
Consumer products are hard and it's generally harder to guarantee their success than B2B products. Here's why: https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1271240038399918080
Related to tweet number 3, on the "first 90 days" pressure that's so common in the industry:
It's useful to understand the Firehorse Effect and it's impact on new leaders https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1259664911883358208
It's useful to understand the Firehorse Effect and it's impact on new leaders https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1259664911883358208
Related to tweet number 5, on avoiding product blunders:
It's useful to understand why most groups default to problem solving rather than problem prevention https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1218730779263430656
It's useful to understand why most groups default to problem solving rather than problem prevention https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1218730779263430656
Pre-mortems are a high ROI tool for product teams. They are currently not used as much as they should be, mainly because teams are either not aware or do not know how to run them https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1221261576948174849
A thread on the biases we encounter when conceiving and building products https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1282169204699873281
Back to the top of this thread: https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1296306987886505985
